Venezuela will hold parliamentary elections Dec. 6, the country's election board announced Monday after much speculation the vote could be delayed.
The crucial election is set to be one of the most unpredictable in recent years, given the current low-level of support for President Nicolás Maduro and his ruling PSUV party, coupled with the fractured state of the opposition.
In March, pollster Datanalisis said Maduro's popularity stood at 25 percent, due to the dire state of the country’s economy -- decimated by the global fall in oilprices in the last year -- and a subsequent widespread lack of staple products.
Analysts believe the PSUV, which currently controls the National Assembly with 96 of the country's 165 deputies, could lose significant ground in the vote.
The opposition umbrella party, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), had been calling on the government to set a date for the election, and had accused officials of delaying the announcement out of concerns for Maduro's popularity.
But as National Electoral Council (CNE) President Tibisay Lucena announced the election date, she denied the accusations.
'Never has this electoral authority given any sense that there would not be an election this year,' Lucena told reporters, refuting claims the CNE had been pressured into the decision.
Opposition leader Leopoldo López, in prison since February 2014 and facing charges related to deadly anti-government protests, had urged the government to call the elections as one of the key demands of his month-long hunger strike.
López is now set to end his protest within the next 48 hours, NTN24 news portal quoted his father as saying.
The opposition leader has also demanded the elections be overseen by international observers.
The CNE said Monday that the Union of South
American Nations would be authorized to oversee the election, but appeared to rule out observers from the U.S.-headquartered Organization of American States or the European Union.
Fellow jailed opposition figure Daniel Ceballos had also been on hunger strike, but was forced to end his protest after 20 days due to medical concerns.
Forty-three people were killed last year in anti-government protests held across the country. Protests have since diminished but marches continue to be called.
By Benjamin Tavener
Anadolu Agency
enerji@aa.com.tr